#RBPi.v6 (12/2017): Consumers' Roles in the EV Revolution

I want to start a more strategic and philosophical discussion of the current advent of EVs and the roles of various actors. This will take more than one diary. A couple Addenda to last month’s EV holiday shopping guide can work as a good intro to the discussion. 

#RBPi (#RESIST-by-Plugging-in) diaries expand awareness that:

When the government is run by oil interests and global-warming deniers, switching to a Plug-in vehicle (a.k.a. electric car or EV) becomes a direct, effective act of #Resistance. On the merits, EVs are viable and increasingly attractive in many segments of the US new and used auto market.

If you are serious about resisting, have a car, and you haven’t plugged in yet, I hope to help you move ahead in the inevitable path to electrification, sooner rather than later. Because #Resist.

EV Holiday Shopping Addenda

Two important addenda: 1. How could I forget touting EVs’ lower cost-of-ownership after purchase? and 2. A new  interesting addition to the list of available recommended models, and a couple of upcoming ones.

1. Forgot to talk about cost of ownership!

In the previous #RBPi  I was so busy warning you about caveats and things to be aware of (range variability, charging needs, etc.), that I forgot to tout an obvious upside: once bought/leased, EVs are substantially cheaper to run.

The current crop of new EVs do ~3.5-4 miles/kWh. The average US price of electricity is ~$0.12/kWh. So running on electricity, you will do 30-35 miles/$. Even with the skimpiest Prius in the cheapest-gas state, you will now pay 1.5 times as much. With an average American gas car (~20 mpg in routine driving, at best) and the current average ~2.5$/gallon, gas costs at least 4x as much as EV juice. 

So depending on the car your new EV will replace, and on the amount you drive, you will save anywhere from several hundred to several thousand $$ per year just on fuel.

Disclaimer: this assumes home charging. If a large chunk of your charging is done elsewhere, you may end up saving less (if paying “walk-in” commercial rates) or more (if you get free/subscription charging).

Now let’s talk maintenance. Internal combustion engines (ICE) have all those extra moving parts...

An ICE car (left) vs. a Tesla Model S (right), both stripped off their bodies.